Dining: Lizbeth’s Cafe

By Jennifer Deseo | Oct 28, 2009

REVIEW — Here’s a little archaeology to chew on: Domesticated chickens did not arrive in the New World on the Mayflower. They didn’t cluck their way across the Atlantic on the Nina, Pinta or Santa Maria, either. Suck it, Columbus.

Photo: Lizbeths broiled chicken, no thanks to Columbus. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photo: Lizbeth's broiled chicken, no thanks to Columbus. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Instead, scientists believe the chicken — that plump, succulent fowl — came to South America from Polynesia long before the Europeans did, sometime around the 14th century. That means indigenous people in the Andes were cooking a mean rotisserie chicken while western Europeans were trying to beat the plague.

Those are the breaks. But it goes a long way to explain why South American (particularly Peruvian) roasters are so damn tasty. Centuries of working the bird, perfecting its cooking time, and honing the spices down to a science have paid off big time for modern restaurateurs.

To some extent, that culinary skill has transferred to the Salvadoran-run kitchen at Lizbeth’s Cafe. Keywords: to some extent.

On one hand (wing?), Lizbeth’s charcoal-broiled chicken really works. Its simple seasoning — nothing more than salt and pepper — allows one to enjoy the bird’s natural flavors. The skin remains crisp (not crunchy) and doesn’t get gooey or droopy with the weight of caramelized sugars. It’s the meat that stays sweet, with hints of corn and whatever that bird ate before its demise. (more…)

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Dining: Mayorga Coffee Factory

By Jennifer Deseo | Oct 8, 2009
Photo: A little bit of everything from Mayorgas brunch buffet. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photo: A little bit of everything from Mayorga's brunch buffet. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

REVIEW — If breakfast is the most important meal of the day, then where does brunch fit into that equation? That bizarro hybrid of morning carbs and midday protein gives the meal some significance, but just how much?

At Mayorga Coffee’s $13 Sunday buffet, brunch ranks in importance somewhere between that second cup of coffee you really didn’t need, and the stale donut you really didn’t want. Yep, it’s that bad. (more…)

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Dining: Dama Cafe

By Jennifer Deseo | Sep 23, 2009
Photo: Do it.

Photos: Do it (top); dont do it (bottom). Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

REVIEW — Here’s the good news about that house-turned-restaurant on Roeder Road, the one tucked behind the county’s liquor depot: The cakes are amazing! Here’s the bad news: One must endure mediocre Ethiopian food before getting to dessert.

That’s just how things roll at Dama Cafe — weak, even bad wots washed down with an orgasmic zuppa inglese chaser. The dichotomy makes it downtown Silver Spring’s worst Ethiopian restaurant, and the best coffee house in the county.

First, the entrees. The cafe’s vegetarian combo ($12 at lunch, right) is a bipolar plate of sauteed cabbage and collard greens, various red and yellow stews, and fit fit (more on that later). The cabbage’s mustard-yellow tinge might lead one to expect a spicy kick, but it’s pleasantly sweet and slightly buttery. The collards are, well, collards: a little bitter, a little tough. (more…)

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Burger Quest 2009: Quarry House Tavern

By Jennifer Deseo | Sep 2, 2009
Photo: Couldnt believe my cameras phone could snap that pic in the darkness! Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Photo: Never thought my phone's camera could snap that pic in the darkness! Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

REVIEW — That crisp, dry air and cool breeze mean only one thing: The Penguin’s quest to find downtown Silver Spring’s tastiest burgers is coming to an end.

It’s been quite the artery-clogging journey, one that’s led me from one end of the central business district to the other. At last, I landed at the one place everyone told me to hit when this trek started almost two months ago: the Quarry House Tavern.

For the uninitiated, here’s a quick rundown of the place: It’s extremely dark and extremely loud, tucked in a cavelike basement beneath Bombay Gaylord on Bonifant Street. It’s the very definition of a dive, one that serves seriously good hamburgers. (more…)

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Burger Quest 2009: McGinty’s Public House

By Jennifer Deseo | Aug 27, 2009
Credit: J. Deseo/SSP

Credit: J. Deseo/SSP

While the newsroom generally reviews McGinty’s Pub around St Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d make it a stop along my 2009 Burger Quest. Here’s how it all went down:

There once was a Penguin from Brooklyn
On a quest (you can say she was lookin’)
For the bestest of grilling,
Something tasty and filling,
A thick burger for her beak to be hookin’.

McGinty’s seemed like a good place
For this Penguin to go stuff her face.
She told her kind waiter,
“Some french fried potaters
And a tall glass of sweet lemonade.

“While you’re at it, please fetch me a burger
With a thick slice of Dubliner cheddar.
Tell the chef to be makin’
It with Irish bacon,
‘Cause nothing could make it taste better.” (more…)

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Burger Quest 2009: Tastee Diner

By Jennifer Deseo | Aug 13, 2009
Credit: J. Deseo/SSP

Credit: J. Deseo/SSP

REVIEW — Believe it or not, food has a voice. For example, a thick steak served with a baked potato belts out soaring arias, while a good hamburger with fries unleashes a wicked cover of Led Zep’s “Whole Lotta Love”. One way or another, food can be heard.

But the burgers at Tastee Diner, Silver Spring’s historic greasy spoon, barely whisper. And in the migraine-inducing cacophony of Tastee’s dining room, a mute burger ain’t a good thing. (more…)

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